Steve Davis is widely regarded as one of today's leading voices on the trombone. After graduating from The Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz ('89), Davis first gained widespread recognition in 1990 upon joining as the last to join the Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Steve’s first record dates would be Blakey's last, including One For All (A&M), the title track penned by Davis.
Over the years since, Davis has worked with a broad range of jazz luminaries such as his first mentor Jackie McLean, Chick Corea, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, Cecil Payne, Harold Mabern, Larry Willis, Freddie Hubbard & The New Jazz Composers Octet, Slide Hampton's World of Trombones, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Rene McLean, Nat Reeves, Avishai Cohen, Roy Hargrove & Willie Jones III. Raised in Binghamton, New York, Steve has performed at major venues around the world including appearances at the North Sea, Montreal, Vienne, Montreaux, Newport, JVC, Detroit, Chicago & Playboy Jazz Festivals, The Jimmy Fallon Show with Stevie Wonder and at The White House Tribute to Ray Charles (PBS). Davis appears on over 150 recordings, including 20 as a leader. His 2022 release "Bluesthetic" (SMOKE Sessions) includes an all-star band featuring Steve Nelson, Peter Bernstein, Geoff Keezer, Christian McBride & Willie Jones III playing a program of Steve's originals. "Bluesthetic'' garnered rave reviews and spent months atop the JazzWeek Radio Charts. Other notable releases include Say When: Celebrating J.J. Johnson, Think Ahead, and Correlations (SMOKE Sessions), For Real and Gettin’ It Done (Positone). During 2019, Steve appeared on Chick Corea's Grammy Winning Spanish Heart Band album, "Antidote" and toured Europe with the group. Davis also continues to work regularly with the collectively-led sextet One For All (feat. Eric Alexander, Jim Rotondi, David Hazeltine, John Webber & Joe Farnsworth), bassist Nat Reeves' State Of Emergency & Blue Ridge Bands, as well as playing with John Lee's Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, Ron Carter and Christian McBride big bands and The Queens Jazz Orchestra. Steve’s original composition, “Optimism" appears on the McBride Big Band’s Grammy Award winning release Bringin' It (2018).
Davis performs and has recently recorded with his wife, vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis on her 2024 jazz debut "Where Is Love" (WJ3 Records) which also features his son, guitarist Tony Davis. Steve & Abena appear together on Natalie Merchant's 2023 release, "Keep Your Courage" (Nonesuch). Steve’s latest release, Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones Vol. 1 (2023) captures never before heard sessions with the legendary pianist in one of his final recordings, and also features bassist Peter Washington. In addition to playing regularly in NYC, Steve maintains an active presence on the vibrant local CT jazz scene. A long-time educator, Steve has guided a broad range of emerging musicians at the Hartt School's Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Division, University of Hartford, CT where he was recently honored for over 30 years of service and as '23 Alumni Of The Year. In Fall '22, Prof Davis left Hartt to join the Berklee College of Music Brass Dept. as Full Professor. Other prestigious educational affiliations have included the San Francisco Conservatory's RJAM faculty, Jamey Aebersold’s Summer Jazz Workshops, Skidmore Jazz Workshop, Jazz in July at UMASS Amherst, Stanford University Jazz Workshop.
www.stevedavismusic.com